Monday, December 18, 2006

McCain Sponsors Bill To Silence Bloggers!

D. Martyn Lloyd-Morgan over at The Libery Sphere brings us this interesting piece of information...

U.S. Senator and potential Republican Presidential candidate John McCain has taken aim at independent bloggers. The Senator has introduced legislation that will make bloggers legally responsible for comments and copyrighted material posted on their websites, including fines up to $300,000.

In an obvious attempt to silence the voices of individual, private citizens on the Internet, McCain has once again thrown his weight behind legislation that enhances the power and influence of the wealthiest among us while robbing individuals of their right to free speech. The Senator has been down this road once before. As a co-sponsor of McCain-Feingold, which was passed into law, McCain became a champion of robbing citizens of free speech, creating a 'zone of protection' for political candidates in the days leading up to an election.

This has prevented groups such as the NRA from running ads prior to elections that inform the citizens of the voting records of incumbents with regard to 2nd Amendment rights. Yet a handful of organizations with deep pockets, underwritten by billionaires such as George Soros, have found a loophole in the law allowing them to funnel millions of dollars to organizations that run campaign ads through what is known as '527 groups.'

In short, McCain-Feingold has done nothing but silence the voices of citizens while giving more power and influence to the wealthiest among us who can do their damage through 527s.

And now, McCain is at it yet again. Perhaps the Senator fears the voice of the people. Why else would he wish to make vulnerable individual bloggers, the majority of whom are not paid? To threaten an individual citizen who makes no money from blogging with the possibility of a $300,000 fine will do nothing but silence the voices of Americans who exercise their free speech on the Internet.

Yet groups that are bankrolled by the likes of George Soros will not blink an eye at the new legislation due to the fact that, one, a fine of $300,000 is chump change, and two, they have the means to adequately protect themselves legally from any charge of false accusations, character assassination, or any other infraction.

An individual, independent blogger usually has neither the time, money, nor the resources to provide themselves with such protection. The net effect of this legislation will be individual bloggers being hauled to court by frivolous lawsuits, potentially bankrupting us.

The fact that John McCain has now 'outed' himself as the enemy of free speech is quite disturbing. Many believe that he is one of the most viable candidates to face Hillary Clinton in 2008. But his stance on this issue, plus the McCain-Feingold debacle, raises serious doubts about the Senator as a Presidential candidate.

My fellow independent bloggers, if you value your right to free speech and your freedom to share your viewpoints on the Internet unhindered by stupid legislation, the time is NOW to contact Congress. In fact, contact John McCain's office and tell them how despicable this legislation is.

If you were considering supporting John McCain for President, the time is NOW to let his office know that as a blogger who values liberty and free speech, you cannot in good conscience support his Presidential bid UNLESS he withdraws support from this asinine legislation that is in clear violation of every known Constitutional principle.

Even if you are not a blogger, this attack on our First Amendment rights should send chills up the spine of any red-blooded American.

1 Comments:

Since we're on the topic of politics, I think I'll comment that I wasn't even considering a vote for McCain anyhow. He voted with the Democrats against the Federal Marriage Amendment the last time or two it came up, and he told a California newspaper in 2000 that he thinks Roe v. Wade should remain the law of the land.

About

Music, especially song, is the most human of the arts. It needs no materials or tools other than the ear and the throat - along with mind and heart. When we sing alone, we are led out of ourselves into the world of song. When we sing together, we create community, a communion in soul. The group becomes more than the sum of its parts: it is creating beauty.
Alice Parker